Maternity girdle with separable garter-supporting attachment



Dec. 2, 1958 P. BLAT 2,862,503

MATERNITY GIRDLE WITH SEPARABLE GARTER-SUPPORTING ATTACHMENT Filed April 15, 1955 INVENTOR. P404? 5092? firraemeYs United States Patent .MATERNITY GIRDLE WITH sEPARAnLE- GARTER-SUPPORTING ATTACHMENT Paula Blatt, Cleveland, Ohio Application April 15, 1955, Serial No. 501,675

Claims. ((31.128-546) This invention relates to the art of maternity garments.

I am of course aware that maternity girdles are commonly provided with garters permanently attached to the same; and l have conceived the idea that it would prove a great conveniencefor a pregnant woman, during the later stages of enlargement of her abdominal region, to be able to remove her stockings and garters entirely whenever desired and still retain the comfort of the girdle itself, as for instance when she returns to her home where the stockings'and garters maybe unnecessary butwhere she would still enjoy the benefit of the gridle.

It is therefore the'object of my ,present' invention to devise a combination of a girdleand garter-supporting attachment which is readily separable from the girdle whenever. desired so that the girdle itself may be worn either alone or with the garter-supporting attachment, the advantage of this arrangement being especially important during the later stages of pregnancy.

Another object is to devisesuch a combination with means whereby the garter-supporting attachment-itself may be readily adaptable for use also as an abdomensupporting means that may prove sufiiciently effective during the early stages of pregnancy. A further object consists in the particularfornrand arrangement of the several parts of my present device whereby it is possible to obtain the. several practical ada es to e h h fie rqin e 0 Oth r b e s will p e h t f l win d r ption and claims when consideredtogetherwith theaccompanying drawing. V Fig. l is a front view of my present combination as it would appear upon the body of the wearer;

Fig. 2 is a rear View thereof;

Fig. 3 is a side view thereof;

Fig. 4 is a front perspective View of the garter-supporting attachmentwhen adapted for use as an abdomensupporting means .during the early stages of -pregnancy.-

It is to be understood that the present form of .disclosure is merely for the sake of illustration and that there might be devised various modifications thereof with- .out departing from the spirit. of, my invention as. herein set forth and claimed.

Referring now to the accompanying drawing in detail, the closed band 1 is formed from a longitudinally elastic single strip of material that has its ends folded upon themselves at an angle, as indicated at reference numeral 2, and sewed in such condition; and in which the folded ends are sewed together in abutting relation, as at 3, so as to provide a tapered or peaked portion, as indicated in the present drawing. The band 1 is of substantial width and is adapted to be worn in a snug manner about the womans body. The joined folded portions 2 are adapted to engage the sacroiliac region of the body of the wearer and will provide a bracing efiect for this region of her body.

The front part 4 of the band 1 is adapted to have supporting engagement beneath the abdomen of the wearers body while the side portions 5 are adapted to strip that has its twoends.

I attachment 7 may.

instance when at home, so as to leave the band 1 2,862,503 *Patented D c- 9 "ice have engagement about and upon her hips so as to maintain this garment in proper position at all times during use.

At the rear of the band 1 and across approximately the middle thereof I have provided a longitudinally. elastic and middle part sewed thereto while the unsewed portions 6 will provide a pair of loops at the two sides of'the band 1 for a purpose to be explained.

I have provided also a garter-supporting attachment 7 that has a hook 8 attached to each end thereof for ready supporting engagement within the corresponding loop 6 of the belt 1. The garter-supporting means 7 is made of longitudinally elastic strip material that has longer stretch than the material of the band 1 and is adapted to overlie the band 1 at the front and side portions thereof. By making the member 7 of slightly less-length than the distance between the loops- 6, there will be ensured smooth engagement of the member 7 upon the band 1 when this combined garment is in position upon the body of the wearer. T he member 7 has permanently attached thereto a depending pair of garters for each leg of the wearer; the front garter 9 in each instance being located at a point corresponding approximately to the middle of the thigh of thewearers body while the other garter 10 in each instance may be located at a point at the side of the hip of the'wearer. The garters are so located upon the attachment7that they will extend in substantially straight parallel lines so asto exert their pull in substantially vertical directions and thus avoid any twisting of the stockings.

With this combinatiomthe belt 1 and garter-supporting be worn together when it is desired to wea stockings and garters, asfor instance in public, and. the garter-supporting attachment 7 may be readily, quickly and entirely removed whenever desired, as for alone with its benefit as an abdomen-supporting means, especially during later stages of pregnancy.

With a modification, as herein provided, the gartersupporting attachment 7 may be converted into an ab- .domen-supporting'means for use during the early stages of pregnancy. For'this purposeI have provided the flexible strip 11 with a loop at each end thereof to receive the ch es h hs h me e 8; nd t e m i 'l'ehgth .o f t e membe had the s i 1 w l he u h th th l have sn hsa m abo t t h d h h w a e whe a i d e e T a is the t in i which ma he of an shed Widt hn ei he a tic h 50 ey l ve enga m n IQSS e sh rh ia res g engaged beneath of the wearers body whilev the. front part thereof may be her ah h eh su e ti ehga ameh th e f. h dq 9 id h t gn i th f ma h e n men arch the hips 9' er. bod thi ase hi same d vi may s rve a ahhhd mem h phrtns. m an and aha a .asarter-shrp rtihemean ha is 'during the early stagesof pregnancy when more substantial supporting means for the abdomen is not necessary and when no abdomen-supporting means may be needed at home. Then, during the later stages of pregnancy, there may be worn the belt 1 either with or without the garter-supporting attachment 7 in the manner above described and of course without the strip 11.

It is to be understood that, when the belt 1 and the garter-supporting attachment 7 are worn together, there may be relative movement of the attachment 7 with re spect to the band l; and any force transmitted to the attachment 7 along the garters will not be transmitted to the band 1 which will therefore not be disturbed in its position upon the body of the wearer at any time during normal use of this combined garment. The attachment 7 will be so positioned upon the substantially wide belt 1 that they will occupy overlapping relation to each other at all times during use upon the body of the wearer.

When this garment is not in position of use, the garters may extend forwardly at an angle of approximately thirty degrees with respect to the attachment 7; and, upon applying the garment to the body of the wearer, the garters 10 will be adapted to assume position substantially parallel to the vertically extending garters 9, as above explained. Also, the garters 10 have their upper ends attached between the overlying portions of the attachment 7 for the sake of convenience and comfort, this arrangement being illustrated in Fig. 4 of the present drawing.

From the above it will be seen that I have devised'a combined garment which may serve as an abdomensupporting means during all stages of pregnancy with the greatest possible degree of comfort; and there may be enjoyed also the added satisfaction of being able to remove the garter-supporting attachment in a most convenient and expeditious manner and to realize the continued comfort of the abdomen-supporting means during the latter stages of pregnancy and without any disturbance. In this manner, the wearer is enabled to adapt the garment to her immediate need during the varying stages of pregnancy and also according to whether it is desired to wear stockings and garters or to remove them While still retaining the abdomen-supporting means during the more advanced stages of such condition.

What I claim is: I

1. In a maternity garment, a longitudinally elastic main strip of material sufficiently long to extend about the front and side portions of the wearers body and only partially about the rear thereof, said strip having provided upon each end thereof an attaching means, an auxiliary strip of flexible material having a companion attaching means at each end thereof and being of such length as to permit interengagement of said attaching means at the ends of said main and auxiliary strips so as to thereby together form a closed band adapted for snug engagement about the body of the wearer, said auxiliary strip being adapted to be positioned in the sacroiliac region of the body of the wearer, said main strip having a front portion adapted to extend beneath the abdominal region of the wearers body for supporting engagement therewith and having side portions adapted to extend about and above the hip regions of the wearers body, and garter means attached to and depending from said main strip for each leg of the wearers body when the garment is in position upon her body.

2. A maternity garment comprising a closed band of longitudinally elastic material adapted to extend in a snug manner about the body of the wearer and to have engagement with the sacroiliac region and beneath the abdomen of the wearers body, loop form of attaching means at opposite points of the rearward part of said closed band, and a longitudinally elastic auxiliary strip of material sufiiciently long to extend about the front and side portions of said band and having provided at each end thereof a companion hook form of attaching means for releasable connection to said attaching means upon said band, said auxiliary strip occupying closely overlying relation upon the outside of said band, and garter means attached to and depending from said auxiliary strip for each leg of the wearer when the garment is in position upon her body.

3. A maternity garment comprising a closed band of longitudinally elastic material adapted to extend in a snug manner about the body of the wearer, said band having a rear portion adapted for engagement with the sacroiliac region of the body of the wearer, a front portion adapted for supporting engagement beneath the abdomen of the wearer, and side portions adapted for engagement about the hips of the wearer when in position upon her body, an overlying narrow band having its ends attached to said closed band and being provided between its ends with attaching means, an auxiliary longitudinally elastic strip of material in closely overlying relation upon the outside of said closed band throughout the front and side portions thereof and having means of readily removable attachment to the attaching means of said narrow band at opposite points thereof, and garter means attached to and depending from said auxiliary strip at opposite parts thereof for each leg of the wearer when in position upon her body.

4. A maternity garment comprising a closed band of longitudinally elastic material adapted to be positioned about the body of the wearer, said band being provided at opposite points at the rear thereof with vertically disposed loops, and a longitudinally elastic auxiliary strip of material sufficiently long to extend about the front and side portions of said band and having provided at each end thereof a downwardly opening hook member adapted for readily releasable engagement within said loops upon said band, said auxiliary strip being slightly shorter than the corresponding part of said band "and of longer stretch than said band so as to ensure smooth overlying positioning of the same upon the outer surface of said band when in use upon the body of the wearer, and garter means attached to and depending from said auxiliary strip for each leg of the wearer when the garment is in position upon her body.

5.- The same structure as recited in claim 1 hereof and in which the garter means for each leg comprises a front garter and a rearwardly positioned garter, and in which said rearwardly positioned garter extends from said main strip at an angle of approximately thirty degrees when the garment is not in position of use and in which said rearwardly positioned garters are adapted to assume substantially vertical position when in use upon the body of the wearer.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,923,112 Nickerson Aug. 22, 1933 1,967,003 Becker July 17, 1934 1,983,636 Palkens Dec. 11, 1934 2,446,590 Hill Aug. 10, 1948 2,632,165 Murdock Mar. 24, 1953 2,649,585 Blatt Aug. 25, 1953 

